Is it bad to be prog? Such is the question I've been pondering recently. I'm speaking of prog in the musical sense, not the political (it's always good to be prog politically, silly).
Prog as in progressive. Progressive is good, right? It's always better to progress than to revert, right? Maybe. Then how come prog rock has become such a joke? The fundamentals are there; make rock music progress. Create something new with such an old, honored institution. But alas, the verdict stands. Prog sucks.
And who can we blame for screwing up such a good idea? How about those bands who popularized the term, bands like Yes and Genesis and late Pink Floyd? Face it; The Wall is probably the most overratted album of the 70s. Pink Floyd were good before with Dark Side of the Moon and their earlier stuff, but I guess that still fell into the realm of psychedelic, a term which is undeniably cool. It wasn't until they started mediocre-izing that they went around saying "Prog prog prog. I'm a prog. Would you like some more prog on your prog?" And even though Peter Gabriel is a great deal cooler than Phil Collins, in the grand scope of things they both tend to suck.* And as for Yes, I just have to say No.
Collins and Gabriel: "Flower suits aside, you guys really need to get off the stage."
So as a result of the aforementioned artists associating the word prog with words like boring, cheesy, long, pretentious, dickless, and...well...Phil Collins, nowadays you have bands like Sigur Ros and their fans trying to avoid the prog label. But how can these boys really say that they aren't progressive? Come on; they sings in a made up gibberish language, they put out that parenthesis ablum that didn't have any titles, and the lead guy plays his guitar with a bow as if he were the first one to do it (Jimmy Page will sick the devil on you!). Call me cooky-cocked, but they sounds pretty proggy to me.
Sigur Ros: Start laughing quietly, and then get louder and louder...
What we need to do is stop thinking that prog is a bad thing. I mean, yes, it can be all of those mean words I mentioned earlier - in fact, if any band lives up to that stereotype, I'd have to point to the pictured band above - but if done right, it can be cool, fun, and downright exiting. Take the new Mars Volta album, which sounds like it was built from a number of ideas regarding the structure, lyrical style, production and execution of modern hard rock. The album carries many staples of prog rock: 12 minute songs, long instrumental breaks, layered sounds and challenging compositions. It all works, though, because the band doesn't sacrifice listenability to attain some far-reaching concept. It's an epic, innovative record that still has room for hot guitar solos.
It's okay to be prog. Kahimi Karie made her album Journey to the Center of Me with 70s prog bands in mind, and the product is a strange, fun little album. Prog doesn't have to be lofty and serious. Need I remind you how prograssive The Beatles were in the late 60s? What about Roxy Music, or Berlin-era Bowie? Or, once again, I could bring up my beloved Shena Ringo, who I see as a much more varied and fun neo-prog act than, say, Radiohead.
Perhaps we need a new word to seperate progressive-thinking musicians from the prog-ogres of yesteryear. Something funner, like proog. Hell, I will even be the first to say that I am a proog-rocker. And if anyone cares to join me in my new genre, put on a flower suit and come on over.*In all fairness, Peter Gabriel did produce some interesting music. His three self-titled albums feature some beautiful, eerie songs that sound more industrial than like the contemporary pop stuff he went on to make. But that's right; nobody cares.
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